Setting ion detector gain using ion area

ABSTRACT

A control system and method of determining a signal to noise (S/N) ratio of an ion detector system, including an ion detector, electron multiplier or photomultiplier, operates by determining an area of a noise peak, determining an area of a signal peak and determining a ratio of the area of the signal peak to the area of the noise peak. Based thereon, the signal to noise ratio can be optimised. The system has particular applicability for use in mass spectrometry.

BACKGROUND TO THE PRESENT INVENTION

The present invention relates to a method of determining a signal tonoise ratio, a method of operating an ion detector, a method of massspectrometry, a control system for a mass spectrometer and a massspectrometer.

Mass spectrometers incorporating an ion detector or electron multiplierare well known. It is desirable to arrange the gain of the ion detectorsuch that signals arising from ion arrivals can be clearlydifferentiated from electronic noise. This is particularly important fororthogonal acceleration Time of Flight mass spectrometers in which manythousands of individual time of flight spectra may be summed to producea final spectrum. In many cases the arrival rate of ions in each ofthese spectra may be relatively low and without efficient exclusion ofelectronic noise, signals arriving from individual ion arrivals at theion detector may be far less intense than the accumulated or summedelectronic noise.

It is advantageous that the signal to noise ratio is maintained at anoptimum value such that signals from individual ion arrivals aresufficiently intense so as to be differentiated from electronic noisebut not so intense that the dynamic range of the ion detection system iscompromised.

It is known to use Time to Digital Converters (“TDC”) and signalaveragers or Analogue to Digital Converters (“ADC”) to record theelectronic signal produced by an ion detector in response to an ionarrival.

A Time to Digital Converter records an ion arrival event based upon anamplitude threshold. The amplitude threshold may comprise a fixedamplitude threshold or a constant fraction discriminator. The amplitudethreshold is set to exclude a high percentage of the electronic noise.The gain of the ion detector is then adjusted to ensure that asignificant portion of the signals arising from ion arrivals have aheight which exceeds this threshold. This ensures that the majority ofion arrivals result in a recorded event.

A signal averager digitises the signal arising from an ion arrival usingan Analogue to Digital Converter. Again it is important to exclude ahigh percentage of the digitised electronic noise from each time offlight spectrum before summing multiple spectra. Conventionally, anamplitude threshold is used to exclude electronic noise. The thresholdmay be set to exclude recorded signal below a preset number of leastsignificant bits (“LSBs”) corresponding to the height of the digitisedsignal.

The gain of the ion detector may then be adjusted to ensure that asignificant portion of the digitised signals arising from ion arrivalshave a height which exceeds this threshold. This ensures that themajority of ion arrivals result in a recorded event.

The noise may be excluded from the final data by applying a fixedpredetermined height threshold or a dynamic or adaptive height amplitudethreshold such as is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 8,598,513 (Micromass),the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.

Single ions striking an ion detector give rise to a range of differentsignal intensities due to the ion detector having an inherent pulseheight distribution. This variation in intensity is due to thestatistical nature of secondary electron emission associated with anelectron multiplier. The average height is related to the mass to chargeratio value and the charge state of the ion as electron yield is relatedto the velocity and the energy of the ions striking the ion detector.The ion detector gain is usually set for a specific analyte species suchthat a large proportion (>85%) of all the signals from single ionstrikes can be differentiated from electronic noise.

The advantages of peak detecting ADCs are well known and reference ismade to US 2009/0321628 (Micromass). In particular, differentiationbetween signal and noise can be made on the basis of the ion area, forexample, in the manner as described in US 2012/0126110 (Micromass), thecontents of which are incorporated herein by reference. This methodprovides superior differentiation between signal and noise therebyallowing lower detector gain and hence a lower digitised signal heightcan be employed which improves detector lifetime and, importantly,increases the usable dynamic range of the ADC.

It is desired to provide an improved method of operating an iondetector, an improved mass spectrometer and an improved method of massspectrometry.

SUMMARY OF THE PRESENT INVENTION

According to an aspect of the present invention there is provided methodof determining a signal to noise (S/N) ratio of an ion detector systemcomprising an ion detector, electron multiplier or photomultipliercomprising:

determining the area of a noise peak;

determining the area of a signal peak; and

determining the ratio of the area of said signal peak to the area ofsaid noise peak.

The preferred embodiment relates to methods of setting an ion detectorsystem signal to noise for optimum operation and importantlyadditionally relates to various methods of adjusting the ion detectorgain in order to maintain optimum performance throughout the iondetector lifetime.

According to a preferred embodiment an optimum signal to noise ratio ispreferably set and is preferably maintained based upon the average ionarea rather than the average ion height. Setting the ion detector usingaverage ion area according to the preferred embodiment (compared withother conventional methods which utilise average ion height) isparticularly advantageous in terms of maximising the dynamic range of anADC and also maximising the lifetime of an ion detector by minimisingthe operational gain.

The area of an ion peak is directly correlated to the gain of an iondetector and is independent of the temporal width of a signal producedby the ion detector due to an ion arrival. However, the height of an ionpeak depends upon the gain of the ion detector and the temporal width ofsingle ion arrivals.

The method of setting the signal to noise based upon ion area accordingto the preferred embodiment is particularly robust to changes in thetemporal width of ion arrivals generated by different types ofdetectors. For example, a single ion arrival signal 50 LSB high and 2digitisation samples wide at half height FWHM has an area of 100 and aheight of 50 LSBs. The area of the ion peak is correlated directly tothe gain of the electron multiplier i.e. the number of electronsproduced for a single ion strike. At the same overall gain a slowerdetection system may give a FWHM of 4 digitisation samples and a heightof 25 LSB. In this instance, the height has changed and any thresholdingor calculation of signal to noise based on height will need to beadjusted. However, as the area measurement is directly correlated togain, no recalculation of the signal to noise needs to be performed.

According to an embodiment of the present invention the signal to noisefor optimal performance is preferably set using the peak detected areaof the ion arrival event and the peak detected area of the noise ratherthan the height of the ion arrival event and the height of the noise.

The method according to the preferred embodiment represents animprovement over conventional methods in which the height of the signalis set relative to the height of the noise.

The procedure for determining the gain required for optimum signal tonoise is generally relatively time consuming. As the ion detector gainfor a given detector voltage decreases with use it may be impractical toregularly repeat this procedure throughout the lifetime of the iondetector.

In addition to determining the ion detector gain required for optimumsignal to noise it may also be desirable to determine the ion detectorgain required to achieve a predetermined precision of area measurementand/or arrival time measurement. The precision of the area and arrivaltime measurement of digitised signals from ion arrivals at the iondetector is affected by the number of digitization samples across thesignal and the number of ADC LSB's for each sample. In instances wherethe pulse height distribution is narrow, the signal to noise required torecord the majority of ion arrivals can be achieved with relatively lowdigitised intensity. The precision of the area and/or arrival time for asignal represented by few ADC LSBs will be low. Low precision inmeasurement for individual signals affects the precision of the area andtime of flight recorded for the peaks in the final summed orhistogrammed spectrum. In this situation the detector gain may beincreased to increase the precision of the individual measurements.

Low precision in area and time measurement for individual signalsaffects the precision of the area and position recorded for the peaks inthe final summed or histogrammed spectrum.

Once the gain required for optimum signal to noise has been determinedthe average ion area under these conditions can be recorded.

This value can then be used as a reference value to monitor and oradjust the detector gain or supply voltage periodically throughout thedetector life time. This ensures that the signal to noise and henceoptimum performance of the system is preferably maintained withoutdirectly re-measuring the conditions for best signal to noise. Theaverage ion area value may be measured much more quickly than theprocess required to determine the detector voltage for optimum signal tonoise and so can be repeated frequently without excessive time penalty.

According to another aspect of the present invention the average ionarea or value correlated to the average ion area is periodicallymeasured and the ion detector gain or detector supply voltage isadjusted to maintain the average ion area at a value determined toprovide optimum signal area to noise area characteristics.

The combination of using the area of the digitised signal rather thanthe height to both determine detector gain for optimum signal to noiseand to monitor and adjust for gain changes throughout the detectorlifetime represents a significant advantage over conventional methods.

According to an aspect of the present invention there is provided amethod of mass spectrometry comprising:

providing an ion source, a mass analyser and an ion detector or electronmultiplier;

digitising the signal arising from ion arrivals at the ion detector orelectron multiplier;

processing the digitised data to produce time and area measurements forthe digitised signal;

adjusting the gain of an ion detector or electron multiplier such that adesired signal area to noise area ratio is achieved for the processeddata arising from the arrival of an ion at the detector;

measuring a first value corresponding to or correlated to the averagearea of the digitised signal arising from the arrival of an ion at thedetector or electron multiplier;

during subsequent operation, periodically re-measuring the first valuecorresponding to or correlated to the average area of the digitisedsignal arising from the arrival of an ion at the detector or electronmultiplier to produce a second value; and

adjusting the gain or voltage supply of the ion detector or electronmultiplier such that the second measured value is adjusted to besubstantially the same as the first measured value.

According to a preferred embodiment the gain of an ion detector may beadjusted such that the measurement of ion intensity or ion area has adesired precision in addition to a desired signal noise ratio for theprocessed data arising from the arrival of an ion at the detector.

The noise peak is preferably obtained from a signal output from the iondetector, electron multiplier or photomultiplier when no ions, electronsor photons are impinging upon the ion detector, electron multiplier orphotomultiplier.

The signal peak is preferably obtained from a signal output from the iondetector, electron multiplier or photomultiplier when ions, electrons orphotons are impinging upon the ion detector, electron multiplier orphotomultiplier.

The method preferably further comprises prior to determining the ratioof the area of the signal peak to the area of the noise peak the stepsof:

(i) filtering a first signal output from an Analogue to DigitalConverter by applying a threshold amplitude to the first signal so as toreject or attenuate peaks having an amplitude less than a thresholdthereby generating a second signal;

(ii) peak detecting the second signal to generate first data comprisingone or more peak area values and one or more time values;

(iii) filtering the first data by applying a threshold area to the firstdata so as to reject or attenuate peaks having a peak area value lessthan a threshold thereby generating second data; and

(iv) combining or histogramming the second data with other correspondingdata.

According to another aspect of the present invention there is provided amethod of operating an ion detector system comprising an ion detector,electron multiplier or photomultiplier comprising:

determining a signal to noise (S/N) ratio of the ion detector, electronmultiplier or photomultiplier according to a method as claimed in anypreceding claim; and then

optimising the signal to noise ratio.

The step of optimising the signal to noise ratio preferably comprisesaltering, adjusting or setting a gain of the ion detector, electronmultiplier or photomultiplier.

The step of altering, adjusting or setting a gain of the ion detector,electron multiplier or photomultiplier preferably comprises altering,adjusting or setting a supply voltage to the ion detector, electronmultiplier or photomultiplier.

The step of altering, adjusting or setting a gain of the ion detector,electron multiplier or photomultiplier preferably comprises altering,adjusting or setting a gain of the ion detector, electron multiplier orphotomultiplier so that at least x % of single ion arrivals arerecorded, wherein x≦100.

According to an embodiment x is selected from a group consisting:(i)<10; (ii) 10-20; (iii) 20-30; (iv) 30-40; (v) 40-50; (vi) 50-60;(vii) 60-70; (viii) 70-80; (ix) 80-90; (x) 90-100.

According to a preferred embodiment x≧80, 81, 82, 83, 84, 85, 86, 87,88, 89 or 90.

The method preferably further comprises determining a first average ionarea or a first value correlated to an average ion area at a first timeT1.

The method preferably further comprises using the first average ion areaor a first value correlated to an average ion area as a reference.

The method preferably further comprises checking or re-checking the gainof the ion detector, electron multiplier or photomultiplier, preferablyperiodically. The step of checking or re-checking the gain of the iondetector, electron multiplier or photomultiplier preferably comprises:

(i) determining a second average ion area or a second value correlatedto an average ion area at a later second time T2;

(ii) comparing the second average ion area or the second valuecorrelated to an average ion area with the first average ion area or thefirst value correlated to an average ion area and determining whether ornot the second average ion area or the second value correlated to anaverage ion area is within a first range;

wherein if it is determined that the second average ion area or thesecond value correlated to an average ion area falls outside of thefirst range then the method further comprises altering, adjusting oroptimising a gain of the ion detector, electron multiplier orphotomultiplier; and

wherein if it is determined that the second average ion area or thesecond value correlated to an average ion area falls inside the firstrange then the method further comprises acquiring further data.

The method preferably further comprises checking or re-checking thesignal to noise ratio of the ion detector, electron multiplier orphotomultiplier, preferably periodically.

The step of checking or re-checking the signal to noise ratio of the iondetector, electron multiplier or photomultiplier preferably comprisesaltering, adjusting or setting a gain of the ion detector, electronmultiplier or photomultiplier.

According to another aspect of the present invention there is provided amethod of mass spectrometry comprising a method as described above.

According to another aspect of the present invention there is provided acontrol system arranged and adapted to determine a signal to noise (S/N)ratio of an ion detector system comprising an ion detector, electronmultiplier or photomultiplier, wherein the control system is arrangedand adapted:

(i) to determine the area of a noise peak;

(ii) to determine the area of a signal peak; and

(iii) to determine the ratio of the area of the signal peak to the areaof the noise peak.

According to another aspect of the present invention there is provided acontrol system for operating an ion detector system comprising an iondetector, electron multiplier or photomultiplier, wherein the controlsystem is arranged and adapted:

(i) to determine a signal to noise (S/N) ratio of the ion detector,electron multiplier or photomultiplier by determining the area of anoise peak, determining the area of a signal peak and determining theratio of the area of the signal peak to the area of the noise peak; and

(ii) to optimise the signal to noise ratio.

The control system is preferably arranged and adapted:

(i) to determine a first average ion area or a first value correlated toan average ion area at a first time T1 and to use the first average ionarea or the first value correlated to an average ion area as areference;

-   -   (ii) to check or re-check the gain of the ion detector, electron        multiplier or photomultiplier, preferably periodically;    -   (iii) to determine a second average ion area or a second value        correlated to an average ion area at a later second time T2;    -   (iv) to compare the second average ion area or the second value        correlated to an average ion area with the first average ion        area or the first value correlated to an average ion area and to        determine whether or not the second average ion area or the        second value correlated to an average ion area is within a first        range;    -   wherein if it is determined that the second average ion area or        the second value correlated to an average ion area falls outside        of the first range then the control system is arranged and        adapted to alter, adjust or optimise a gain of the ion detector,        electron multiplier or photomultiplier; and

wherein if it is determined that the second average ion area or thesecond value correlated to an average ion area falls inside the firstrange then the control system is arranged and adapted to acquire furtherdata.

According to another aspect of the present invention there is provided amass spectrometer or analytical instrument comprising a control systemas described above.

The mass spectrometer or analytical instrument preferably furthercomprises an ion detector, electron multiplier or photomultiplier.

According to an embodiment the mass spectrometer may further comprise:

(a) an ion source selected from the group consisting of: (i) anElectrospray ionisation (“ESI”) ion source; (ii) an Atmospheric PressurePhoto Ionisation (“APPI”) ion source; (iii) an Atmospheric PressureChemical lonisation (“APCI”) ion source; (iv) a Matrix Assisted LaserDesorption lonisation (“MALDI”) ion source; (v) a Laser DesorptionIonisation (“LDI”) ion source; (vi) an Atmospheric Pressure lonisation(“API”) ion source; (vii) a Desorption lonisation on Silicon (“DIOS”)ion source; (viii) an Electron Impact (“EI”) ion source; (ix) a ChemicalIonisation (“CI”) ion source; (x) a Field lonisation (“FI”) ion source;(xi) a Field Desorption (“FD”) ion source; (xii) an Inductively CoupledPlasma (“ICP”) ion source; (xiii) a Fast Atom Bombardment (“FAB”) ionsource; (xiv) a Liquid Secondary Ion Mass Spectrometry (“LSIMS”) ionsource; (xv) a Desorption Electrospray lonisation (“DESI”) ion source;(xvi) a Nickel-63 radioactive ion source; (xvii) an Atmospheric PressureMatrix Assisted Laser Desorption lonisation ion source; (xviii) aThermospray ion source; (xix) an Atmospheric Sampling Glow Dischargelonisation (“ASGDI”) ion source; (xx) a Glow Discharge (“GD”) ionsource; (xxi) an Impactor ion source; (xxii) a Direct Analysis in RealTime (“DART”) ion source; (xxiii) a Laserspray lonisation (“LSI”) ionsource; (xxiv) a Sonicspray lonisation (“SSI”) ion source; (xxv) aMatrix Assisted Inlet lonisation (“MAII”) ion source; and (xxvi) aSolvent Assisted Inlet lonisation (“SAII”) ion source; and/or

(b) one or more continuous or pulsed ion sources; and/or

(c) one or more ion guides; and/or

(d) one or more ion mobility separation devices and/or one or more FieldAsymmetric Ion Mobility Spectrometer devices; and/or

(e) one or more ion traps or one or more ion trapping regions; and/or

(f) one or more collision, fragmentation or reaction cells selected fromthe group consisting of: (i) a Collisional Induced Dissociation (“CID”)fragmentation device; (ii) a Surface Induced Dissociation (“SID”)fragmentation device; (iii) an Electron Transfer Dissociation (“ETD”)fragmentation device; (iv) an Electron Capture Dissociation (“ECD”)fragmentation device; (v) an Electron Collision or Impact Dissociationfragmentation device; (vi) a Photo Induced Dissociation (“PID”)fragmentation device; (vii) a Laser Induced Dissociation fragmentationdevice; (viii) an infrared radiation induced dissociation device; (ix)an ultraviolet radiation induced dissociation device; (x) anozzle-skimmer interface fragmentation device; (xi) an in-sourcefragmentation device; (xii) an in-source Collision Induced Dissociationfragmentation device; (xiii) a thermal or temperature sourcefragmentation device; (xiv) an electric field induced fragmentationdevice; (xv) a magnetic field induced fragmentation device; (xvi) anenzyme digestion or enzyme degradation fragmentation device; (xvii) anion-ion reaction fragmentation device; (xviii) an ion-molecule reactionfragmentation device; (xix) an ion-atom reaction fragmentation device;(xx) an ion-metastable ion reaction fragmentation device; (xxi) anion-metastable molecule reaction fragmentation device; (xxii) anion-metastable atom reaction fragmentation device; (xxiii) an ion-ionreaction device for reacting ions to form adduct or product ions; (xxiv)an ion-molecule reaction device for reacting ions to form adduct orproduct ions; (xxv) an ion-atom reaction device for reacting ions toform adduct or product ions; (xxvi) an ion-metastable ion reactiondevice for reacting ions to form adduct or product ions; (xxvii) anion-metastable molecule reaction device for reacting ions to form adductor product ions; (xxviii) an ion-metastable atom reaction device forreacting ions to form adduct or product ions; and (xxix) an ElectronIonisation Dissociation (“EID”) fragmentation device; and/or

(g) a mass analyser selected from the group consisting of: (i) aquadrupole mass analyser; (ii) a 2D or linear quadrupole mass analyser;(iii) a Paul or 3D quadrupole mass analyser; (iv) a Penning trap massanalyser; (v) an ion trap mass analyser; (vi) a magnetic sector massanalyser; (vii) Ion Cyclotron Resonance (“ICR”) mass analyser; (viii) aFourier Transform Ion Cyclotron Resonance (“FTICR”) mass analyser; (ix)an electrostatic mass analyser arranged to generate an electrostaticfield having a quadro-logarithmic potential distribution; (x) a FourierTransform electrostatic mass analyser; (xi) a Fourier Transform massanalyser; (xii) a Time of Flight mass analyser; (xiii) an orthogonalacceleration Time of Flight mass analyser; and (xiv) a linearacceleration Time of Flight mass analyser; and/or

(h) one or more energy analysers or electrostatic energy analysers;and/or

(i) one or more ion detectors; and/or

(j) one or more mass filters selected from the group consisting of: (i)a quadrupole mass filter; (ii) a 2D or linear quadrupole ion trap; (iii)a Paul or 3D quadrupole ion trap; (iv) a Penning ion trap; (v) an iontrap; (vi) a magnetic sector mass filter; (vii) a Time of Flight massfilter; and (viii) a Wien filter; and/or

(k) a device or ion gate for pulsing ions; and/or

(l) a device for converting a substantially continuous ion beam into apulsed ion beam.

The mass spectrometer may further comprise either:

(i) a C-trap and a mass analyser comprising an outer barrel-likeelectrode and a coaxial inner spindle-like electrode that form anelectrostatic field with a quadro-logarithmic potential distribution,wherein in a first mode of operation ions are transmitted to the C-trapand are then injected into the mass analyser and wherein in a secondmode of operation ions are transmitted to the C-trap and then to acollision cell or Electron Transfer Dissociation device wherein at leastsome ions are fragmented into fragment ions, and wherein the fragmentions are then transmitted to the C-trap before being injected into themass analyser; and/or

(ii) a stacked ring ion guide comprising a plurality of electrodes eachhaving an aperture through which ions are transmitted in use and whereinthe spacing of the electrodes increases along the length of the ionpath, and wherein the apertures in the electrodes in an upstream sectionof the ion guide have a first diameter and wherein the apertures in theelectrodes in a downstream section of the ion guide have a seconddiameter which is smaller than the first diameter, and wherein oppositephases of an AC or RF voltage are applied, in use, to successiveelectrodes.

According to an embodiment the mass spectrometer further comprises adevice arranged and adapted to supply an AC or RF voltage to theelectrodes. The AC or RF voltage preferably has an amplitude selectedfrom the group consisting of: (i)<50 V peak to peak; (ii) 50-100 V peakto peak; (iii) 100-150 V peak to peak; (iv) 150-200 V peak to peak; (v)200-250 V peak to peak; (vi) 250-300 V peak to peak; (vii) 300-350 Vpeak to peak; (viii) 350-400 V peak to peak; (ix) 400-450 V peak topeak; (x) 450-500 V peak to peak; and (xi)>500 V peak to peak.

The AC or RF voltage preferably has a frequency selected from the groupconsisting of: (i)<100 kHz; (ii) 100-200 kHz; (iii) 200-300 kHz; (iv)300-400 kHz; (v) 400-500 kHz; (vi) 0.5-1.0 MHz; (vii) 1.0-1.5 MHz;(viii) 1.5-2.0 MHz; (ix) 2.0-2.5 MHz; (x) 2.5-3.0 MHz; (xi) 3.0-3.5 MHz;(xii) 3.5-4.0 MHz; (xiii) 4.0-4.5 MHz; (xiv) 4.5-5.0 MHz; (xv) 5.0-5.5MHz; (xvi) 5.5-6.0 MHz; (xvii) 6.0-6.5 MHz; (xviii) 6.5-7.0 MHz; (xix)7.0-7.5 MHz; (xx) 7.5-8.0 MHz; (xxi) 8.0-8.5 MHz; (xxii) 8.5-9.0 MHz;(xxiii) 9.0-9.5 MHz; (xxiv) 9.5-10.0 MHz; and (xxv)>10.0 MHz.

The mass spectrometer may also comprise a chromatography or otherseparation device upstream of an ion source. According to an embodimentthe chromatography separation device comprises a liquid chromatographyor gas chromatography device. According to another embodiment theseparation device may comprise: (i) a Capillary Electrophoresis (“CE”)separation device; (ii) a Capillary Electrochromatography (“CEC”)separation device; (iii) a substantially rigid ceramic-based multilayermicrofluidic substrate (“ceramic tile”) separation device; or (iv) asupercritical fluid chromatography separation device.

The ion guide is preferably maintained at a pressure selected from thegroup consisting of: (i)<0.0001 mbar; (ii) 0.0001-0.001 mbar; (iii)0.001-0.01 mbar; (iv) 0.01-0.1 mbar; (v) 0.1-1 mbar; (vi) 1-10 mbar;(vii) 10-100 mbar; (viii) 100-1000 mbar; and (ix)>1000 mbar.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Various embodiments of the present invention together with otherarrangements given for illustrative purposes only will now be described,by way of example only, and with reference to the accompanying drawingsin which:

FIG. 1 shows a conventional electronic noise rejection method which isutilised according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention;and

FIG. 2 shows a flow diagram illustrating a preferred embodiment of thepresent invention wherein a control system determines whether or not anaverage ion area falls within desired limits and adjusts the iondetector gain if the average ion area is determined to fall outside ofdesired limits.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

FIG. 1 shows a known method of electronic noise rejection as describedin US 2012/0126110 (Micromass) the contents of which are incorporatedherein by reference. This process is followed as a first step in thedetermination of a reference signal to noise ratio according to apreferred embodiment of the present invention.

With reference to FIG. 1, the output from an ADC is subjected to arelatively low amplitude threshold in order to reject at least somebackground noise. Ion peaks and some noise spikes are not filtered outby the relatively low amplitude noise threshold applied to the output ofthe ADC.

The ion peaks and noise spikes which are not filtered out by the lowamplitude threshold are then subjected to peak detection which resultsin data being produced in the form of time and peak area values.

The data is then subjected to an area threshold filtering step whereinpeaks having a peak area below a preferred or predetermined peak areathreshold are preferably rejected, attenuated or otherwise filtered outas these are preferably considered to relate to noise spikes rather thanion peaks.

The time and intensity data which remains after the area thresholdingstep has been performed is then preferably combined or integrated withother time and intensity data in order to produce a composite massspectrum or other composite data.

According to the preferred embodiment the area thresholding step ispreferably performed prior to combining mass spectral data i.e. peakarea thresholding is preferably performed on a push-by-push basiswherein the data is preferably subjected to threshold filteringimmediately after a first pulse of ions has been accelerated into a timeof flight region of a mass spectrometer and prior to a second pulse ofions being accelerated into the time of flight region. This stepsignificantly reduces the amount of data which needs to be processed bythe control system preferably in real time.

FIG. 2 shows a flow diagram illustrating a preferred embodiment of thepresent invention.

One aspect of the preferred embodiment is that the ion detector gain ispreferably initially adjusted to set the ion detector to operate at anoptimum signal area to noise area ratio.

The process of setting the ion detector to operate at the optimum signalto noise ratio preferably comprises initially setting a noise exclusionthreshold as described above in relation to FIG. 1 and then adjustingthe ion detector gain by altering the supply voltage to obtain theoptimum signal to noise. This process results in differentiation ofsignal from electronic noise on the basis of the area of the peakdetected signal which provides an advantage over conventional methodswhich measure only the height of the digitised signal.

Once the optimum signal to noise ratio has been determined and the iondetector gain has been adjusted in order to operate at an optimum signalto noise ratio, the average ion area (“AIA”) is then preferably measuredunder these optimum operating conditions. The initial measurement of theaverage ion area may be stored in memory as a record of the average ionarea which is preferably required in order to obtain an optimum signalto noise ratio. The average ion area which is determined may thereforebe treated as a reference level and subsequent measurements of theaverage ion area may then be compared with the reference average ionarea after the ion detector has been used for a period of time.

The average ion area may be used to estimate the number of ion arrivalevents in each mass spectral peak after combination of many time offlight spectra. The total area of a mass spectral peak in a combined orcomposite spectrum divided by the average ion area will give an estimateof the number of ion arrivals in that mass spectral peak regardless ofthe ion arrival rate or any variation in the ion arrival rate over theintegration time.

The estimated ion count may then be used to estimate the precision ofthe area of the final mass spectral peak and/or the precision of thearrival time or mass measurement of the final mass spectral peak. Theseuncertainty measurements may then be used to guide post processingsteps.

Estimating the number of ion counts based on the average ion area andthe average area of the final combined data yields a more reliableestimate of the number of ion arrivals than comparing the average ionheight to the final height of the spectral peak in the combined data dueto the fact that identical ions will not all arrive at the ion detectorat exactly the same flight time. Instead, as will be understood by thoseskilled in the art, the ion arrival time of a particular species of ionswill fall within an ion arrival time envelope dictated by the underlyingsystem geometry.

Multiple ions arriving at slightly different times will overlap, butsince the ions are not exactly coincident then they will yield acombined or summed signal having a lower absolute height than would bethe case if all the ions arrived at exactly the same time.

Dividing the height of the final spectral peak by the average ion heightwould give an estimated number of ion arrivals which would be lower thanthe true number of ion arrivals. One advantage of the preferredembodiment is that by using a peak detecting ADC method as describedabove and recording the average ion area enables a more accuratemeasurement of the number of ion arrivals to be made.

It should be noted that it is sufficient to calculate a value which issimply correlated to the average ion area rather necessarily having todetermine the exact value of the average ion area. For example,according to an embodiment the mean of the average ion area for severaldifferent ion species may be used. According to yet further embodimentsany other value relevant to the pulse height distribution of the ionarea other than the mean may be utilised as long as the same method isutilised for subsequent checks of the average ion area.

In situations where some electronic noise remains in the final data itcan be advantageous to measure the mean of the ion area above apredetermined higher amplitude threshold. Such an approach ensures thatthe electronic noise does not skew the measurement of the mean ion areaat very low ion arrival rates.

Having preferably determined the average ion area (or a value correlatedto the average ion area) the average ion area which is determined ispreferably compared to an average ion area which is preferably stored asa reference value in the previous step. If the determined average ionarea is determined to be within a predetermined error value from thestored or reference average ion area then the system preferably proceedsto acquire analytical data.

After analytical data has been acquired a decision may be made whetheror not to check or re-check the average ion area. The average ion areamay be checked or re-checked after each acquisition or after apre-determined number of acquisitions. According to another embodimentthe average ion area may be checked or re-checked after a pre-determinedtime interval from the last check or re-check of the average ion area.

If a decision is made to check or re-check the average ion area, thenthe average ion area is preferably measured again by substantially thesame method as used to obtain the initial reference value. If it isdifferent within a set limit from the value of the average ion areawhich is preferably stored in memory then the ion detector gain maypreferably be adjusted deterministically or iteratively until theaverage ion area as measured is determined to be within an acceptableerror.

According to an embodiment of the present invention after a relativelylonger time interval it may be advantageous to periodically check orre-check the optimum signal to noise value. The optimum signal to noiseconditions may be determined again and the average ion area under thenew optimum operational conditions may then be determined. The newaverage ion area which is determined may preferably replace the previousbenchmark average ion area value which is preferably stored in memory.The step of determining afresh the optimum signal to noise ratio isparticularly advantageous if the pulse height distribution of ionsarriving at the ion detector changes slightly over a period of time as,for example, either the ion detector ages and/or if the noise increases.

Several different methods of determining the level of background orelectronic noise and hence the area threshold required are contemplated.In all cases data is preferably acquired in a mode of operation withoutany ions striking the ion detector so that any signal from the iondetector preferably comprises substantially only electronic noise. Forexample, according to an embodiment the noise level may be determined bycalculating the mean and standard deviation of the digitised electronicnoise by repetitively acquiring single time of flight spectra in peakdetecting mode. This information may be used to calculate a suitablearea threshold or a combination of amplitude and area thresholds.

Alternatively, an amplitude and/or peak area threshold may be determinedempirically by observing the minimum value at which the thresholdexcludes substantially all or the majority of the electronic noise.

Once the noise level is known or has otherwise been determined the iondetector is then preferably adjusted to achieve the desired signal tonoise. Several methods for determining the optimum signal to noise arecontemplated.

Method #1

According to a first preferred method a threshold may be applied in afirst step in order to substantially exclude electronic noise from thedata.

During the course of a second subsequent step data may be acquired in amode wherein the signal is digitised and processed to produce time andintensity pairs wherein the intensity value is preferably set to aconstant value regardless of the actual calculated area prior toaccumulating into a composite spectrum. This mode of operation isanalogous to a peak detecting Time to Digital Converter (“TDC”) mode ofoperation wherein an ion arrival event results in a constant intensityoutput. The intensity value representing an ion arrival event ispreferably set to 1.

During the course of a third subsequent step the gain of the iondetector is preferably adjusted while monitoring a mass spectral peakarea in a combined data set until it is determined that a predeterminednumber (e.g. >85%) of single ion arrivals are recorded.

In order to set the gain of the ion detector such that e.g. >85% ofsingle ion arrivals will be recorded, it will be understood that at thepoint where the area of 100% or all ion arrivals exceeds the threshold,the number of events recorded for a peak per unit time will not increaseif the gain of the detector is further increased. Substantially 100% ofall the signals produced as a result of ions striking the detector willbe recorded.

The gain of the ion detector is preferably reduced slightly such thatthe number of events recorded per unit time is a predeterminedpercentage of this maximum value e.g. according to an embodiment 85% ofsingle ion arrival events may be arranged to be recorded.

This process preferably ensures that the vast majority of single ionarrivals are recorded at the minimum possible detector gain and averageion area value thereby improving the lifetime of the ion detector andimportantly maximising the dynamic range provided by the verticaldigitisation resolution of the ADC.

Method #2

According to a second method the areas of each single ion arrival fromsingle peak detected time of flight spectra are measured and arepreferably used to create a histogram of ion areas detected according toa first step.

During the course of a second subsequent step the gain of the iondetector may be adjusted to obtain a desired mean value of ion area ifthe pulse height distribution (PHD) of the ion detector is known oruntil the pulse height distribution obtained is such that >85% of singleions will be differentiated from noise.

Method #3

According to a third method combined spectral data may be acquiredincluding at least one singly charged species and at least one multiplycharged species having similar mass to charge ratios. The ratio of thearea of the two peaks at different detector gain settings may be used todetermine the detector gain setting at which the ratio of the peaks doesnot vary with increasing gain. This point will indicate that all ionarrivals are detected in both of the different charge state species.

As the mean of the pulse height distribution for a low charge state isless than for a high charge state species at similar mass to chargeratios, this method will determine the signal to noise ratio required inorder to efficiently detect the lower charge state. The ion arrival rateis preferably set such that predominantly single ions arrive for eachspecies within each time of flight spectrum.

A similar method may be utilised using isotope, adduct, product,fragment or other ratios of ion species having the same charge state ifone species has a larger proportion of multiple ion arrivals than theother or has a significantly different mass to charge ratio value. Thisagain relies on the difference between the pulse height distributionsfor these species.

These methods may be performed in either peak detecting ADC or TDCmodes.

Method #4

According to a fourth method the number of detected ion event for aspecies may be recorded during a first step as a proportion of thenumber of individual time of flight spectra combined.

During a second step assuming a Poisson distribution of ion arrivals,the number of events as a ratio of the total number of time of flightspectra gives a measure of X or the average ion arrival rate. The pointwhere this value remains constant as the ion detector voltage isincreased indicates that all ions are detected for this speciesindicating an acceptable signal to noise ratio. It is contemplated thatthis value may be calculated during histogramming within the memory ofthe ADC.

Once the signal to noise ratio is determined the average ion area or avalue correlated to the average ion area for single ion arrivals may bemeasured and used for subsequent ion detector gain correction.

Ion Detector Gain Correction

Several methods of ion detector gain correction may be utilisedaccording to various embodiments of the present invention.

According to a first preferred method the ratio of the area of a massspectral peak in a combined spectra in peak detecting TDC mode to thearea of the mass spectral peak in the combined spectra in standard peakdetecting ADC mode may be measured for a substantially identical numberof combined time of flight spectra under the conditions for optimumsignal to noise.

These measurement should preferably be made as close as possible in timein order to minimise errors due to ion arrival rate fluctuation andshould preferably cover sufficient ion arrival events in the speciesused so as to ensure suitable statistical precision. For example, timeof flight spectra may be acquired by alternating between combining for ashort time period in peak detecting ADC mode and combining for the sametime period in peak detecting TDC mode.

In order to improve statistical precision many spectra from each modemay be subsequently combined. This ensures that slow or randomfluctuations in ion arrival rate, for example, due to ion sourceinstability do not corrupt the ratio.

In a less preferred embodiment it is contemplated that the ADC mayalternate between peak detecting ADC and peak detecting TDC on the timescale of each individual time of flight spectra. Two combined spectramay be produced within the ADC memory-one containing all data from peakdetecting ADC mode and the other all data from peak detecting TDC mode.When sufficient data has been acquired to ensure good statisticalprecision the ratio of the area of the same mass spectral peak in thecombined data will give a measure of the average ion area.

Using a similar method to estimate the average ion height will yieldinaccurate results as summed signals from overlapping in arrivals whichare not exactly coincident in time will not increase in height in directproportion to the number of arrivals. However, the area will increase indirect proportion to the number of ion arrivals.

According to a second preferred method the ion area may be estimatedfrom statistical intensity variations of acquired data.

The second preferred method preferably comprises the steps of: (i)acquiring a combined spectrum over a predetermined mass range from achosen sample; (ii) calculating the variance of the noise of the squareroot of the signal; and (iii) assuming a Poisson arrival distributionthen calculating the variance for this data set which will be directlycorrelated to the mean of the ion area distribution.

This method gives a value which is correlated to the actual average ionarea of a single species as it estimates the ion area averaged over allspecies over the mass range acquired. This method has the advantage ofallowing a very rapid statistically precise value correlated with theaverage ion area since ions from many species including chemicalbackground over a wide mass or mass to charge ratio range are utilisedin the measurement. This method is also robust in the presence ofsignals within the spectrum which contain multiple ion arrivals inindividual time of flight spectra. It is therefore unnecessary to adjustthe ion arrival rate to ensure single ion arrival conditions prior tomaking the measurement.

Several methods may be used to calculate the variance of the noise.

Using a similar method to estimate the average ion height will yieldinaccurate results as summed signals from overlapping in arrivals whichare not exactly coincident in time will not increase in height in directproportion to the number of arrivals. However, the area will increase indirect proportion to the number of ion arrivals.

Although the preferred embodiment is described with reference to a Timeof Flight mass spectrometer, the methods described above mayalternatively be applied to other instruments which, for example, employan electron multiplier or a photomultiplier in which the optimumdetector gain needs to be determined and preferably periodicallyadjusted.

During calculation of the average ion area other information may becalculated and stored. For example, higher order moments such as skewand/or kurtosis and/or peak width may be calculated or otherwisedetermined. These values may also be used to determine if a signal isnoise or arises from an ion arrival at the ion detector.

According to an embodiment signals arising from multiple ion arrivalsmay be differentiated by interrogating the peak shape and/or peak width.These may then be excluded from the calculations of average ion area ifit is deemed that they would corrupt the measurement or estimation ofaverage ion area. This cannot be achieved by recording ion height alone.

Although the present invention has been described with reference topreferred embodiments, it will be understood by those skilled in the artthat various changes in form and detail may be made without departingfrom the scope of the invention as set forth in the accompanying claims.

1. A method of determining a signal to noise (S/N) ratio of an iondetector system comprising an ion detector, electron multiplier orphotomultiplier comprising: determining an area of a noise peak;determining an area of a signal peak; and determining a ratio of thearea of said signal peak to the area of said noise peak.
 2. A method asclaimed in claim 1, wherein said noise peak is obtained from a signaloutput from said ion detector, electron multiplier or photomultiplierwhen no ions, electrons or photons are impinging upon said ion detector,electron multiplier or photomultiplier.
 3. A method as claimed in claim1, wherein said signal peak is obtained from a signal output from saidion detector, electron multiplier or photomultiplier when ions,electrons or photons are impinging upon said ion detector, electronmultiplier or photomultiplier.
 4. A method as claimed in claim 1,wherein said method further comprises prior to determining the ratio ofthe area of said signal peak to the area of said noise peak the stepsof: (i) filtering a first signal output from an Analogue to DigitalConverter by applying a threshold amplitude to said first signal so asto reject or attenuate peaks having an amplitude less than a thresholdthereby generating a second signal; (ii) peak detecting said secondsignal to generate first data comprising one or more peak area valuesand one or more time values; (iii) filtering said first data by applyinga threshold area to said first data so as to reject or attenuate peakshaving a peak area value less than a threshold thereby generating seconddata; and (iv) combining or histogramming said second data with othercorresponding data.
 5. A method as claimed in claim 1, furthercomprising: optimising said signal to noise ratio to establish anoptimised signal to noise ratio; and operating an ion detector systembased on the optimised signal to noise ratio.
 6. A method as claimed inclaim 5, wherein the step of optimising said signal to noise ratiocomprises altering, adjusting or setting a gain of said ion detector,electron multiplier or photomultiplier.
 7. A method as claimed in claim6, wherein the step of altering, adjusting or setting a gain of said iondetector, electron multiplier or photomultiplier comprises altering,adjusting or setting a supply voltage to said ion detector, electronmultiplier or photomultiplier.
 8. A method as claimed in claim 6,wherein the step of altering, adjusting or setting a gain of said iondetector, electron multiplier or photomultiplier comprises altering,adjusting or setting a gain of said ion detector, electron multiplier orphotomultiplier so that at least x % of single ion arrivals arerecorded, wherein x≦100.
 9. A method as claimed in claim 8, wherein x isselected from a group consisting: (i)<10; (ii) 10-20; (iii) 20-30; (iv)30-40; (v) 40-50; (vi) 50-60; (vii) 60-70; (viii) 70-80; (ix) 80-90; (x)90-100.
 10. A method as claimed in claim 9, wherein x≧80, 81, 82, 83,84, 85, 86, 87, 88, 89 or
 90. 11. A method as claimed in claim 1,further comprising determining a first average ion area or a first valuecorrelated to an average ion area at a first time T1.
 12. A method asclaimed in claim 11, further comprising using said first average ionarea or a first value correlated to an average ion area as a reference.13. A method as claimed in claim 11, further comprising checking orre-checking the gain of said ion detector, electron multiplier orphotomultiplier, preferably periodically.
 14. A method as claimed inclaim 13, wherein the step of checking or re-checking the gain of saidion detector, electron multiplier or photomultiplier comprises: (i)determining a second average ion area or a second value correlated to anaverage ion area at a later second time T2; (ii) comparing said secondaverage ion area or said second value correlated to an average ion areawith said first average ion area or said first value correlated to anaverage ion area and determining whether or not said second average ionarea or said second value correlated to an average ion area is within afirst range; wherein if it is determined that said second average ionarea or said second value correlated to an average ion area fallsoutside of said first range then said method further comprises altering,adjusting or optimising a gain of said ion detector, electron multiplieror photomultiplier; and wherein if it is determined that said secondaverage ion area or said second value correlated to an average ion areafalls inside said first range then said method further comprisesacquiring further data.
 15. A method as claimed in claim 1, furthercomprising checking or re-checking the signal to noise ratio of said iondetector, electron multiplier or photomultiplier, preferablyperiodically.
 16. A method as claimed in claim 15, wherein the step ofchecking or re-checking the signal to noise ratio of said ion detector,electron multiplier or photomultiplier comprises altering, adjusting orsetting a gain of said ion detector, electron multiplier orphotomultiplier.
 17. A method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the iondetector system is employed in a method of mass spectrometry.
 18. Acontrol system arranged and configured to determine a signal to noise(S/N) ratio of an ion detector system comprising an ion detector,electron multiplier or photomultiplier, wherein said control system isarranged and configured to: (i) determine an area of a noise peak; (ii)determine an area of a signal peak; and (iii) determine a ratio of thearea of said signal peak to the area of said noise peak.
 19. A controlsystem for operating an ion detector system comprising an ion detector,electron multiplier or photomultiplier, wherein said control system isarranged and configured to: (i) determine a signal to noise (S/N) ratioof the ion detector, electron multiplier or photomultiplier bydetermining an area of a noise peak, determining an area of a signalpeak and determining a ratio of the area of said signal peak to the areaof said noise peak; and (ii) optimise said signal to noise ratio.
 20. Acontrol system as claimed in claim 19, wherein said control system isarranged and adapted: (i) to determine a first average ion area or afirst value correlated to an average ion area at a first time T1 and touse said first average ion area or said first value correlated to anaverage ion area as a reference; (ii) to check or re-check the gain ofsaid ion detector, electron multiplier or photomultiplier, preferablyperiodically; (iii) to determine a second average ion area or a secondvalue correlated to an average ion area at a later second time T2; (iv)to compare said second average ion area or said second value correlatedto an average ion area with said first average ion area or said firstvalue correlated to an average ion area and to determine whether or notsaid second average ion area or said second value correlated to anaverage ion area is within a first range; wherein if it is determinedthat said second average ion area or said second value correlated to anaverage ion area falls outside of said first range then said controlsystem is arranged and adapted to alter, adjust or optimise a gain ofsaid ion detector, electron multiplier or photomultiplier; and whereinif it is determined that said second average ion area or said secondvalue correlated to an average ion area falls inside said first rangethen said control system is arranged and adapted to acquire furtherdata.
 21. A mass spectrometer or analytical instrument comprising acontrol system as claimed in claim 19.